Active Protection Capability Demonstrated in an Open Demo

A new active protection system developed by Rheinmetall and ADS GmbH was successfully demonstrated in live firing test earlier in the summer of 2011, validating the design parameters of the proprietary blast-based defeat mechanism in development by IBD Diesenroth for years. Since the test ADS has booked a first serial order for the system.

A rocket propelled weapon fired from a distance of 18 meters is intercepted and destroyed at close range by the ADS system protecting the Fuchs armored personnel carrier. Photo: RheinmetallThe ADS installation includes modules combining sensors and explosive charges that blast away at the instance the threat is in effective range. The system combines threat detection sensors and electro-optical triggering systems, each segment protecting a specific sector of the protector perimeter and provide overlapping of its neighboring sectors. Photo: Rheinmetall

The test vehicle was a standard Fuchs/Fox 1A8 armored personnel carrier modified to carry the system, configured as an appliqué assembly ‘crowning’ above the vehicle’s perimeter, enabling the 6×6 vehicle to assume full protection against Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) without significantly altering the basic parameters of volume, weight and electrical output, mobility and handling trials.

For the APS a Panzerfaust rocket propelled weapon was fired at the ADS protected Fuchs as it travelled at a speed of 20 km/h. Triggered by a pressure detonator of the type commonly used to set off IEDs in urban areas and along routes of march, an RPG was fired at the side of the vehicle from a distance of 18 meters. The small standoff was intended to demonstrate ADS’s unique effectiveness in responding to an attack at close quarters, while simultaneously assuring that the detonator of the shaped charge was armed.

The ADS sensors detected the attack, identified the incoming projectile as a threat and immediately initiated its destruction. Its residual impact was insufficient to penetrate the vehicle’s armor, and was in fact so weak that the vehicle was able to drive away under its own power after being fired on. The low collateral risk was highlighted by the proximity of the test to the VIPs attending the test, viewing the live test from a distance of 150 meters.

Rheinmetall AG owns a 74% share of the ADS GmbH, with the remaining shares held by the technology developer IBD GmbH.